Jason Collins changed the game, all games, with his courage to come out

Jason Collins never won an NBA title or made an All-Star team, and you won’t find his name among the career leaders in any statistical category. Yet, his legacy will be as great as that of LeBron James or Steph Curry . Maybe greater, because Collins’ impact goes well beyond basketball.

There was a before Jason Collins, when gay male athletes felt no choice but to hide their true selves and young men searching for someone like them in professional male sports thought they were alone. And, thankfully, there is an after. The number of male athletes who played major professional sports after coming out is still dishearteningly small, but it is no longer zero.

No one will have to bear the colossal burden of being the very first openly gay man in any of the major professional leagues because Collins was courageous enough to do it. That is his legacy. That is his gift to every athlete who comes after him.

“Jason changed lives through his courage, authenticity, and commitment to helping others feel seen,” tennis great Billie Jean King, the first prominent female professional athlete to come out, said in a statement on social media. “His legacy extends far beyond basketball. He helped move sports and society forward with strength.